Description:This photograph shows the cotton mill in Cross Heath in 1960. The mill was built by Richard Thompson in 1797 and continued to manufacture textiles until the late 1960s. Thompson was a conscientious employer and looked after his staff providing houses for apprentices and cottages for mill workers and their families. What remains of the mill can still be seen behind the frontage of Swift House on the A34, the red brickwork just visible from the road.